It's no wonder the Bruins want to be the next team to score with the lottery. Boston's three other major sports teams have reaped nearly $12 million from sales of the sports tickets, which are among the strongest sellers in lottery's 37-year history, according to information provided to the Herald by the Lottery.

``Boston is a sports town,'' said Anthony Amico, at Ted's Stateline Mobil in Methuen, one of the state's biggest lottery agents. ``Players could care less about a Diamond Doubler - the $2 ticket where you can win up to $20,000. They prefer a Red Sox, Patriots or Celtics ticket depending on the season.''

The Lottery introduced sports lottery tickets in 2006 with the Red Sox Instant Ticket, the nation's first instant game to feature a Major League Baseball team logo. The debut ticket earned the Sox $2.9 million in profit. Since then, the Lottery and the Sox have teamed up for three other scratch tickets, a $10, $20 and its latest $5 ticket. The $5 and $10 tickets netted the Sox $3.8 million and this season's ticket could generate $1.8 million if the tickets are sold out.

Last month, the lottery and the New England Patriots launched the NFL's first $5 instant lottery ticket. The Pats ticket is off to a strong start with sales totaling more than $17 million in less than a month, Cavanagh said. The Pats will net $2.5 million if the tickets sell out.

The Celtics tickets have not been as popular, earning $250,000 in profit for the team in 2006. The latest Celtics ticket, which is still on sale, has the potential to net the Green $400,000.

``Sales depend on how a team is playing,'' said Amico. ``Sox lottery ticket sales started off slow because the team had a slow start, but sales improved as the season progressed. The Pats tickets took off on Day One.''

GRAPHIC: TEAM PLAYERS: The Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots have scored big bucks from their scratch ticket deals with the Massachusetts state lottery.

Team-Ticket Price-Year Introduced-Sales-Amount to cities/towns-Team Profit

Boston Red Sox $5 2006 $188 million $29.8 million $2.9 million

Boston Red Sox $10 2007 $275.6 million $33.6 million $3.1 million

Boston Red Sox $20 2008 $178.9 million $21 million $700,000

Boston Red Sox $5 2009 $150 million* $24.5 million* $1.8 million*

Boston Celtics $5 2006 $70.3 million $11.3 million $250,000

Boston Celtics $5 2008 $50 million* $8.2 million* $400,000*

N.E. Patriots $5 2009 $150 million* $22 million* $2.5 million*

* projected (tickets still on sale); Source: The Massachusetts State Lottery